A Gift For Zuko
by merixthexninja
Summary: Twoshot, Zutara Christmas special. Katara is shopping for gifts for those she loves, and a certain Firebender makes her list... She never expected what came next. Please read and review! Happy Holidays.
1. A Gift for Zuko

A Gift for Zuko

Lights and sounds spun all around declaring the upcoming holiday. A giant evergreen stood in the centre of the town square, offsetting the busy city scene that dominated the rest of the commercial district. The tree was filled with candles and ornaments, to the point where it was one giant light that outshone all the rest in the city. Everyone in Ba Sing Se was busy in preparation for the holidays. The butchers and bakers and all the toy makers were buried in special requests. Extra help was needed in all the shops just to keep up with the customers. Almost everyone was busty preparing, even in the little teashop named the Jasmine Dragon.

Here a young man made his living, catering to twice as many customers as he could handle. All the holiday shoppers wanted for their gift was a nice cup of tea after a long day of shopping. Although the boy in the tea shop wore a smile on his face while he served the customers, he had a sad heart. There was something missing from him, something that left him long ago when he was just a child in the royal palace, years before he got his scar.

Katara had been shopping all day for the people she loved. For once she didn't have to worry about money, and could buy just about whatever she wanted. For Appa she had got as much of the finest hay as she could carry (which was terribly hard to find a hiding place for, and sat wrapped in a sheet in her closet.) For Momo she had gotten a collar embroidered with his name and a bushel of apples.

Her brother was easy, a vintage Water Tribe hunting knife she had found in an antique shop, and had gotten his name carved in the hilt. For Aang, though he was harder to shop for, she had found an old Air Nomad relic in the same store she found Sokka's knife. It was an old book of Air heroes and fairytales. Even for Toph she had managed to find something. It was the first of its kind, a book with raised text, made especially for the blind. Now there was only one person left on her list.

Katara shopped and shopped but hadn't a clue of what she was going to do. This last person was quite special, and the gift had to be perfect for him. However, she was lacking in information, and so decided a field study of her subject was necessary. She found her way to a good spying spot outside his shop at a half hour to sunset, and waited there as silent as a ninja for her subject to appear.

It didn't take long before he arrived on the scene. Hidden from view, Katara watched the boy sweep out the back door of the shop in preparation for closing time. Just her luck, he began humming a tune. She moved in closer to hear it better, but accidentally knocked over a box of something, which landed on its side with a bang.

He spun around to face the noise and shouted, "Who's there?" wielding his broom like a sword. It was too late, though, his observer had already gone.

'I almost got caught!' thought Katara to herself, 'I really must be more careful.' She didn't recognize the tune he was humming, but remembered it well enough. Although she didn't know what use it was to her, and focused on other gift ideas. But what would he like?

'Perhaps a better broom; but, no, that's not good.' She searched her brain, willing herself to think of something great. 'Maybe new clothes, how about a book?' All at once her thoughts disappeared, and she focused on what she heard. Frantically she searched around, trying to find the source of that sound. "That's it!" She exclaimed, "That's the tune!" She spotted the source, an old music box in a shop window. She ran over to get a better view, practically pressing her face against the glass.

The music box was beautiful, that's the only way to describe it. It was made of a dark cherry wood, polished up really well. It had brass trim and a pattern of fall leaves carved into the wood. On the front was an etched picture of a handsome young man embracing a beautiful woman with braided hair. Leaves danced in the wind in the background, and the woman had a rose in her hair. The rose was inlayed with ruby and the leaves in the background with amber.

Katara stood staring at the box so long that the shop owner came and asked if she'd like to purchase it. She practically screamed yes, and asked the man if he could wrap it for her. A few moments later Katara was running home with the box to hide it somewhere safe until Christmas.

XOXOXOXOXOX

It was Christmas morning, and Zuko went outside to hang up a 'closed' sign on the shop door. His Uncle had insisted they close the shop for the day, but Zuko didn't see why they couldn't open it like usual. He had woken at sunrise, as was the Fire Nation tradition. His Uncle, however, was quite the exception to that and often slept until late.

Zuko hung the sign on the door and almost went back inside when he say a box on the shop steps. It was covered in a silk sheet and wrapped with white ribbon. Curious, he picked it up and brought it inside. Zuko looked around and brought the box to the table. Attached was a note, and he opened it and read.

"Zuko

I hope this gift makes you as happy to receive as it made me to give to you."

The note wasn't signed, strangely enough, and said nothing more. Intrigued, Zuko removed the ribbon and silk and opened the box, taking out the gift inside. It was a box, made of cherry wood. Leaves were carved into it around the boarders, with brass accents. In the centre was a carved picture of a man and woman in embrace. The woman had braided hair and wore a rose in it, accented with ruby. Amber leaves swirled around in the background. The box was polished to a shine and the brass and jewels gleamed in the light.

Zuko flipped the top lid open, further examining the thing. When he did, a song played from the box, and he froze in place. It was the song his mother used to sing.

He stood up with a bang and glared at the box, his face angry. He stormed over and threw open the doors, running outside and looking around angrily for the person that sent him it. No one, however, was around. The music from the box floated out to him in high, tinkling notes. He went back inside and glared at the music box on the table.

Then Zuko smiled.


	2. A Gift for Katara

Chapter Two

A Gift for Katara

Gray and white geese flew overhead, honking noisily for all to hear. Their V-formation was perfect today, and Zuko rather thought it resembled an arrow. He stood for a moment in the doorway just watching them and toying with the small piece of paper in his hand.

At this hour of the morning, most people would still be asleep. He habitually rose with the sun, though, which gave him an opportunity like this. Slowly he tore his gaze from the honking fleet in the sky and set off towards the government building. It was an odd destination for Christmas morning, but then again he had just received an odd gift from an oddly anonymous sender. Hopefully, she would not be anonymous for long.

In the government building were the names and addresses of every person living in Ba Sing Se, from the nobles to the men that sat and slept on the front steps of buildings in the lower ring. He walked briskly through the nearly empty streets, rubbing his hands together every once in a while to warm them up. Firebending in the city was too risky, even if it were to keep from getting frostbite.

As he came upon the marble staircase, the boy checked once more that he had the paper and bounded up the steps. He reached the top after ten or twelve and pushed the door open, thankful that it was unlocked. Inside, the walls were decorated with muddy-green coloured tile, and the floor was pale green stone. Not caring to look at the décor, he walked over to the front desk and rang the bell.

A young bright-eyed woman emerged from the file room. She wore a long dress in a pale green and yellow silk pattern, and her thick brown hair was neatly done in a braided bun and secured with a yellow ribbon. In comparison to his own outfit of a green shirt, brown vest, and khaki pants, he couldn't help but feel underdressed.

"Can I help you?" She smiled at him with a professional cheerfulness.

"May I see the residency list?"

"One moment, please," she said, disappearing into the back. Several moments later she emerged with a brown-covered book as thick as your arm was long. She thumped it down on the counter and flipped to a marked page, then turned it around to face Zuko. He thanked her and then she was off, back to the file room to shuffle papers around.

There were thousands of names listed, but thankfully the print was large enough to read and neatly spaced. His plan was to read through for anyone he knew, and then narrow it down from there.

Any customers or other employees of the teashop wouldn't have known his real name. His Uncle would have left his name, so that rules him out. That left, well, no one that he could think of. However, the script was most definitely a woman's writing, so that narrowed it down by fifty percent.

Zuko sighed miserably at the task ahead. Still, he refused to quit now, as the curiosity would drive him insane. He could argue, though, that anyone who knew his name was a security risk to he and his Uncle, but it was mostly curiosity that willed him on through the dozens of names.

Half an hour later, the poor woman who was stuck working there that day jumped at a sudden shout from the man. She'd been on the floor beneath a table, trying to reach a piece of paper someone had dropped there. She had hit her head on the hard wooden underside of it when she jumped at the sudden yell. Quietly she cursed her luck and retreated to rub her head mournfully, hoping that there would not be too much of a bump. Nervously she snuck out to the doorway and peeked out at the man.

"I'm fine," he told the woman before she had a chance to ask. "I got a paper cut. Sorry."

Sighing, she returned to the drudgery of her job. "I really hate working holidays," she muttered somberly. "To think that I could be sipping hot cinnamon tea and opening presents right now…"

Zuko waited until she was out of sight and then returned anxiously to the text. Of course, he hadn't gotten a paper cut, but he almost wished he had instead of finding such a listing.

Four names, listed one after another, with a special "temporary guest" marking beside each. They were the all too familiar names of the Avatar and friends. I could surprise them, he thought, since they wouldn't expect to be attacked on a Christmas morning. Then I could capture the Avatar and… But what if his friend was the one that gave me that gift? They're the only ones I really recognize that would know my real name. It wouldn't be a very honorable and grateful thing to do.

Fuming over the difficult decision that lie ahead of him, for a moment he considered going on a rampage, blowing up half the city with Firebending, and then take the Avatar by force. He couldn't ask his Uncle for advice, because then he'd want to know what was the gift he'd received. Instead of blowing the building up, he quickly memorized the address and slammed the book shut, then stormed out to roam around the city and ponder what to do.

XOXOXOXOXOX

Katara awoke by the excited shouts of Aang as he jumped around the apartment. It was his first Christmas since he'd been recovered from the iceberg, so the childish enthusiasm was fairly justified. She herself was excited as well, and threw off the covers and quickly got herself up and dressed.

Sokka and Toph hadn't bothered with the "dressed" part, and sat sleepily around their family room in their pyjamas. Aang zoomed up to her when she came out and exclaimed happily, "Merry Christmas, Katara!" From behind his back he pulled out a small package tied with ribbon. She smiled, took it, and thanked him. Then she greeted the others, wishing them both a merry Christmas, too.

XOXOXOXOXOX

Around midday, when the four were eating sweets and playing with their new gifts, the doorbell rang, alerting them to a visitor.

"I'll get it!" Aang zipped over and threw open the door. "Hello, merry Christmas!" To his surprise, no one was there after all. "Hey, there's a box sitting out here."

He grabbed the little box and returned to his seat with the others. It was plainly wrapped in brown paper, with regular string holding it in place. A small, folded piece of paper was tied on. He opened it and read, "Katara. This is my return gift."

"There's no signature?"

"Nope." He handed it delicately to her. The girl looked quite surprised.

Her brother asked curiously, "Who's it from, Katara?"

"Beats me," she answered, deciding a white lie couldn't hurt. The girl untied the string and tore away the paper wrapping. Taking off the lid to the box and discarding the tissue paper inside, which was also quite plain, she lifted out the gift. What she pulled out, however, was far from plain. It was a blue silk ribbon with white embroidered dots, supposed to be falling snow. It was about a foot and a half long, and at each end was tied a large wooden bead, painted dark blue. Embroidered across the length of it was a Water Tribe village, with traditional structures and layout. A few children in heavy blue and white clothing ran around, seeming to be bending the snow in a snow fight.

It was quite impressive, and her friends asked to see it themselves. She handed it to Aang, with a slight blush on her face, and Sokka looked over his shoulder at it. Then they passed it to Toph, who gently ran a finger over the intricate embroidering against the smooth fabric.

"What is it a picture of?"

"A Water Tribe village," she told the girl, "In fresh snowfall."

"That's really nice, Katara," complimented her brother, "Is it from a suitor or something?"

"What? Of course it isn't."

"It is, isn't it? Don't be shy."

"Sokka," she moaned.

"Oh, fine."

He handed it back to her and she took it fondly, smiling and thinking to herself that she didn't know Zuko could be so thoughtful.

Outside, you could hear the distant sound of carollers singing, and beyond the window a light snow had began to fall.

XOXOXOXOXOX

A/n: Merry Christmas, everyone! Or, merry whatever you celebrate. This is supposed to take place sometime when they're in Ba Sing Se during Season II. Yes, I had to change the time of year. The first chapter is what was originally a one-shot I wrote last Christmas, and the second chapter I decided to write this year. Do you know what I'd like for Christmas, more than anything else? Some spiffy reviews. Please and Thanks.


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